Nothing can heighten your chess-playing experience more than the feel of a finely crafted set of House of Staunton wood chess pieces. We invite you to discover for yourself why our wood chess pieces are the first choice of chess collectors everywhere.

Under the guidance of the Maestro himself, Frank A. Camaratta, Jr., The House of Staunton has firmly established itself as the gold standard of luxury chess pieces. With an unmatched artistic flair and unwavering commitment to quality, our luxury chess pieces are highly sought after by collectors and players alike.

Chess sets from the House of Staunton make terrific gifts! Our team of experienced chess set specialists are available via phone, email and live chat to answer all of your chess set questions. It's never been easier to find that perfect chess set for the chess player in your life.

(With Board and Box) The House of Staunton offers the finest wood chess sets in the world. Whether you're looking for an inexpensive wood chess set for casual play or an luxury wood chess set to show off your artistic side, you'll find the perfect chess set at The House of Staunton.

The House of Staunton is proud to offer the world's finest wood chess boards. Our wood chess boards adhere to the highest quality standards in the industry and will endure many years of use. We invite you to experience the quality difference at the House of Staunton.

Whether you're looking to purchase inexpensive vinyl chess boards for your local chess club or a beautiful wood chess board to give as a gift to that special Chess player in your life, The House of Staunton has the right chess board for any occasion.

The House of Staunton has the widest selection of chess clocks in the world, all available at the lowest prices. You won't find a better selection of chess clocks on the Internet! Why shop for chess clocks anywhere else?

Tournament chess sets from the House of Staunton are the perfect combination of quality and affordability. There's no better place to shop for tournament chess sets, all of which are designed with the serious tournament chess player in mind.

The House of Staunton is your #1 source for chess books. We offer more than 2,000 chess books from such leading publishers as Everyman Chess, Gambit Publications, New in Chess, Silman James, Batsford, Caissa Editions, and many more.

Learn Chess from the world's leading chess instructors with chess DVDs and chess eDVDs. We offer an incredible selection of chess DVDs from such chess legends as Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Yasser Seirawan, Maurice Ashley and many more. Take your chess game to the next level with instructional chess DVDs!

The History of the Staunton Pattern Chess Pieces

During the first half of the 19th century, a surge in the global popularity of chess brought about the demand for a uniform model of chess pieces. While the variety and styles of chess pieces that were in use at the time were extensive, they were decorative in nature and considered unsuitable for play. It is important to remember that chess has historically been enjoyed by the wealthy, a fact that is reflected in the artistic designs of chess sets that dominated the marketplace. While aesthetically beautiful, the chess pieces of the period were not very practical. The chess pieces were expensive to produce, cumbersome to use, prone to tipping over and had such ornate details that they were unable to withstand the wear and tear of regular use. However the greatest disadvantage of these chess sets was the lack of uniformity of the pieces within a chess set - a player's unfamiliarity with a particular chess set could affect the outcome of the game. Complaints such as these led to the search for a standard design of chess pieces. On September 1, 1849, #58607 - An Ornamental Design for a Set of Chess-Men was registered by Mr. Nathaniel Cooke under the British Ornamental Designs Act of 1842.

Our research has lead us to conclude that the basis for this new design of chess pieces was the Northern Upright Chess set. Complaints about the contemporary designs of chess pieces were well established in chess circles. By starting with an extremely popular yet highly artistic chess set, Mr. Cooke was able to focus his energies solely on correcting those deficiencies. The ornate features that were most susceptible to damage were removed, resulting in a chess set that was durable and less expensive to produce. The diameter of the bases was widened for increased stability and the chess pieces were weighted with lead to minimize tip over. Before the commercial launch of these new chess pieces, Mr. Cooke convinced Howard Staunton to lend his prestigious name to the new design. Mr. Staunton was England's most celebrated Chess personality and the unofficial World Champion. The Staunton Pattern Chessmen, as they were officially known, became commercially available on September 29, 1849 and quickly became the world standard of chess pieces. Their lower production cost brought chess to the masses and did much to popularize the game.

Its clean, simple design has never been equaled - the Staunton Pattern chess set looks as modern today as it did upon its introduction more than 150 years ago. The House of Staunton is proud to carry on this tradition by producing the finest Staunton Pattern Chess Pieces and Chess Sets.

H.O. from ND writes, "Received my beautiful ebonized Winsor chess set today. It is awesome. A work of art I will treasure & play with. I can't wait to save up enough for my House of Staunton chess board."

Home of the World’s Finest Chess Pieces, Chess Boards and Chess Sets

Welcome to the official website of The House of Staunton. The House of Staunton has firmly established itself as the gold standard by which all chess pieces, chess boards and chess sets are judged. All of our luxury chess products, including our chess pieces, chess boards and chess sets, have been produced with the discerning chess collector in mind. We adhere to the highest quality standards and our master artisans handcraft our chess pieces, chess boards and chess sets out of such luxurious materials as Porcelain, and Walnut Burl. We invite you to indulge yourself and discover what countless other chess enthusiasts know – The House of Staunton is the finest chess supplier, offering chess pieces, chess boards, unique chess sets, accessories and equipment – bar none! We're also one of the largest wholesale suppliers of chess equipment in the U.S.

Why settle for less when you can own a legendary chess set from The House of Staunton!